Austal Image P/L

The Panama Canal Authority (ACP) announced Tuesday that it will postpone increasing canal transit fees following calls from the shipping industry to reconsider the rate hikes amid a spate of global supply chain disruptions.The higher rates for the canal's transit reservation system were scheduled to take effect on Thursday but will now start on June 1, allowing the maritime industry more time to prepare for the adjusted booking fees, ACP said. The proposed changes represent a minimum cost increase per transit reservation of $20,000 (up 57%) and a maximum cost increase of $58,500 (up 167%).

The Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) in Monterey, Calif. and the U.S. Coast Guard Research and Development Center (RDC) in New London, Conn. agreed to a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on April 14 extending for five more years their previous three-year direct collaboration on joint research projects and exchanges. The extension is a result of the Tri-Service Maritime Strategy (TSMS) released in December, which underscored the need for joint cooperation in today’s security environment. The emphasis of the MOU is to further optimize joint collaboration for specific research and educational outcomes that directly support defense priorities and Coast Guard statutory missions within the TSMS.

Evergreen Line said on Wednesday that it is investigating the scope of an Egyptian court order to detain the Ever Given container ship which got stuck in the Suez Canal last month.The Suez Canal Authority (SCA) has made a $916 million compensation claim against the ship’s Japanese owner Shoei Kisen, according to UK Club, one of its insurers.The SCA has also obtained a court order to detain the ship as discussions over compensation continue. The vessel is currently being held in Great Bitter Lake, which sits between two sections of the canal.The ship’s operator Evergreen Line said on Monday it was studying the possibility of the ship and cargo on board being treated separately.

Antarctic resupply ship MPV Everest berthed in Fremantle, Australia at 5:30 p.m. local time Tuesday, after it suffered an engine room fire earlier this month, the Australian Antarctic Division said.Australia’s chartered Antarctic resupply vessel MPV Everest was about 1,700 nautical miles south of Perth when the April 5 fire engulfed the vessel's port engine room and destroyed two inflatable rubber boats on the deck. There were no injuries to the 72 expeditioners and 37 crew on board.The ice-strengthened ship, which was returning from a two month voyage to resupply and change personnel at Australia’s Davis and Mawson research stations in east Antarctica

The six-day blockage of the Suez Canal by the Ever Given has resulted in numerous trade and supply chain disruptions for businesses that depend on timely shipments. At least 400 cargo ships were stuck and many forced to reroute. Businesses may be protected from lost profits and the costs of these interruptions and supply chain delays by insurance.Businesses that depend on the Suez Canal to deliver their cargo, commodities and products face billions of dollars of lost profits and damages.